Welcome to the 70th Hunger Games
by diafchildren
Summary: Annie Cresta and her best friend, Leeter Jacqurell, are chosen as the District 4 tributes for the 70th Hunger Games. It's up to Finnick and Mags to prepare them for what is to come... This is their story through the Games and beyond. In Progress! Ch5 up
1. Reaping Day: 7:00:00

**AN from Mk: **This is a roleplay between my friend Ren and I, and I will be writing for Annie. THIS IS WHERE THE STORY WILL BE POSTED FROM NOW ON. Leave us a review to tell us if you love it or not! (:  
><strong>AN from Ren<strong>: ^ Effie, much? Hello! I am the voice of Finnick and Leeter. This is a roleplay between Mk and I, yada yada yada. You know the shtick. We plan to span this roleplay from these Games to Mockingjay. Yeah ambitious, I know - I'm getting a headache thinking about it. Read it, rate it, love it (or diaf).

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><p><strong>Commense Countdown<strong>

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><p>She had never liked this day, even before her name had been put into the reaping bowls with all the other girls between the ages of twelve and eighteen. She had somehow been able to understand that this day, once a year, was never a good day – even if the sun was shining and the sea was calm. She didn't have any brothers or sisters, but she could see the way that parents would hold onto all their children that fell in the appropriate ages to be reaped until they got to the center of town. Sometimes, the boy would come back, but not the girl. Sometimes the girl would come back, but not the boy. And sometimes, sometimes neither of them came back. It wasn't a good day, not even if the sun was shining and the sea was calm, because there was a chance that that boy and that girl might never come home again. Though, in her family, it was her parents who had been chosen to leave and never come back again. Annie frowned, knitting her eyebrows close together as she brushed her hair out in front of the mirror, trying to push away thoughts that she didn't want to be reminded of. They stayed anyways, making themselves comfortable in the space of her mind.<p>

Her parents had died when she was younger in a fishing accident. She hadn't understood what it meant at the time, but she had to go live with her aunt and uncle. And whenever she would ask for her parents, tears would make her aunt's eyes gleam brilliantly as her aunt picked her up and set her on her lap, giving her a long hug, rubbing her back in circles while she murmured calm nice things after saying that her parents had gone somewhere she couldn't follow. She hadn't understood at first, but as she grew older she realized they hadn't just left District Four; they had left the world behind, not just her.

The loss of her parents was Annie's first brush with death. The second came when she was twelve, and her name was entered into the reaping bowl. She wasn't chosen, but the girl she had been standing beside had been. While the other girl walked up to the stage, Annie couldn't help but indulge in the collective sigh of relief coming from the rest of the girls who hadn't been chosen, and no one volunteered.

This happened year after year. In the morning, her aunt would make a big breakfast for them all to share. An omelet for them all to share, filled with vegetables and cheese, bacon and sausages, the seaweed bread that was native to their district would be toasted, and fresh butter would be spread across the top. There would be fruit salad, juice, tea, and coffee. It had become a tradition each year after her name had been put into the reaping. Her aunt had always wanted to make sure that if this was going to be her last meal at home with them that it would be a good one that they could all remember. They would talk about anything other than the reaping, laughing at jokes, and pretending that today could be a good day, even if it never was. Even if she wasn't picked, someone else's family would've lost their child, and on the day that someone loses a child, no one is supposed to be happy.

She had woken up with the sun as it rose, the rays seeping into her room from the open window. She left it open constantly, unless there was a storm coming. The sound of the sea soothed her. The waves splashing against the shore was calming. Even when the storms were around, she would sit at her closed window, and look out at the churning waters, willing the storm to end faster so she could return to the sea. It called to her. It was where she belonged; though no matter how much time she spent outside, or in the water, her skin still stayed as pale as cream.

But that morning there was no time to go out to the water, not the morning of the reaping. She had spared a longing glance out her window before hurrying to go take her bath. Once she was clean, she dressed in her nicer clothes and tied a ribbon around her hair. Today she was in a long white dress, a smart buttoned white coat with three quarter sleeves and scalloped lace at the hems. She had finished brushing out all the tangles from her hair, and pulled the top half, except for her bangs, behind her head, which she then tied back with a ribbon the same green as her eyes, the same green as the sea. She slid into her heeled shoes, and added a light gloss on her lips. There. She was ready, and just in time as her aunt called her down for breakfast.

It was delicious, as it always was. They talked about her uncle's fishing business, what she was studying in school and how her grades were, and her aunt shared the local gossip and they would all have a good laugh together as they ate the spread before them. For a moment, Annie had actually forgotten why she was dressed up, she had forgotten about what day it was, and how she might not come home in a few hours. For that moment, everything was blissful. She had a full stomach, and a family that loved her as if she were their own. And then reality came crashing back down as her uncle said that they should get going, or else they might be late. Right. Today was reaping day. Today was the day a girl or boy she might know would be taken from the District and brought to the Capitol for the Hunger Games. Today was not a good day, even if it had started off feeling like one.

They all walked to the center of town together, where a beautiful stage had been built, where two large bowls filled with paper slips that had the names of the girls and boys on them. Her own name was entered seven times this year, as she had turned seventeen only a few months ago. Still, that was nothing compared to some of the girls and boys she knew from the poorer areas of the District, who had to sign up for tessarae in order to feed their families. She was lucky in that sense, that her aunt and uncle were well off, and she never had to worry about when she would have her next meal. But even though they were well off, she did still enjoy going out into the ocean and fishing for their dinner every now and then.

Being herded towards the rest of the girls the appropriate age into the waiting area for the girls, Annie waved to her best friend who was already in the boys section. He waved back, a smile on his face. And she smiled back in return, able to forget again for half a moment that she was at the reaping, just happy to see her friend.

But then there she was, Jayline Lackey, stepping out onto the stage in her Capitol attire, her hair dyed green to match the sea. The mentors were already out sitting on the stage – they must have made their appearance before she had arrived. The escort welcomed everyone to the reaping of District Four for the Seventieth Hunger Games, and said that this was all so terribly exciting! Annie couldn't help rolling her eyes at Jayline's enthusiasm. Let's see how excited she would feel if her name was placed in the bowls. She's from the Capitol, and the people in the Capitol are exempt from participating in the Hunger Games. No, the people of the Capitol instead get to make bets on who is going to win. They do also sponsor the tributes though, so she can't exactly hold too much against them. But her thought are interrupted by Jayline speaking again.

"Well, let's get to it folks! Boys first this year!" She exclaims, as it had been the girl chosen first last year and she does so love to keep things as fair as possible. She opens to the lid to the boy's large bowl and sticks her hand in, turning her face away and fishing for a piece of paper. She pulls one out and reads the name, "Congratulations Leeter Jacqrell – you're our chosen tribute for the boys this year!"

She turns paler than she normally is, begging with her eyes for anyone else to volunteer for him, not Leeter, not her best friend! But no one does, and he walks up to the stage with his head held high, a tight lipped smile on his face as he waves to the crowd. He his eyes find hers, and as he is moved aside he mouths 'sorry'. She already lost her parents. Now she has to lose her best friend too? The tears stung her eyes while Jayline walked over to the girls bowl and opened the lid. Her arm went in much like it had for the boys, fishing around for a moment before choosing a slip of paper and opening it up.

"Congratulations Annie Cresta – you're our chosen tribute for the girls for the seventieth Hunger Games! Come on up and join Leeter and I on the stage!" Jayline exclaims joyfully, as look horrified washes over her own features for a moment. Annie Cresta. Annie Cresta – that was her name! And everyone was looking at her, expecting her to start walking up to the stage, to stand up there with her best friend and wave everyone goodbye because no one was volunteering for her.

"Come on Annie – come right on up here you lucky girl!" Jayline says, and Annie forced herself to start working, shaking her head a little and making her lips turn up into a smile when she would rather be doing anything but smiling, pretending to be happy that she was chosen for the Hunger Games.

She made it up to the stage, and stood beside Leeter, their eyes showing only each other the sadness they felt for a second before turning back to smile at the crowd. Leeter hadn't been trained since birth for the games, and neither had she. But at least if one of them had to go, they could go with each other instead of some stranger who was genuinely excited for the bloodbath to come.

"Well there you have it, the tributes of District Four ladies and gentlemen – Leeter Jacqurell and Annie Cresta! Let's hear it for them!" And the crowd erupts with smiles, cheers, laughter, whoops and applause; everyone was overjoyed that it was the two of them, and not someone they cared about.

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><p>"You have the loveliest skin, Mrs. Corvak." Finnick purred from beside the woman, his finger drawing circles on the nude back. Her smoke streamed from her cigarette in ribbons, sitting promptly on a long ornate silver holder where the skin could not discolor her synthetically lavender fingers. Mrs. Corvak passed a side-eye to the man, seemingly taken by the compliment and specifically who it came from. The two were strewn upon a gargantuan gilded bed, tangled in fine sheets where their naked bodies were cast in candy colors from the city view beside them. It seemed that a wall of the apartment had been dedicated to glass, providing the most breathtaking view of the metropolis beyond delicately drawn curtains. The colors were bright and evasive, but the apartment itself lay in dead silence save for Mrs. Corvak's smoky exhales and soft sighs. Finnick smiled up to the woman, on his back whereas she sat with her knee propped and elbow rested upon it.<p>

"Is that another one of your wonderful lines, Mr. Odair?" The woman replied, watching as the tribute legend stroked a pure white ringlet from her eyes, tucking it behind her ear. With an amused smile she stroked his bronze hair out of those lovely sea-green eyes, turning onto her stomach beside him.

"Oh no, Cecily." He shook his head as if the idea itself were terrible, his eyes searching hers in the semi-darkness. The room stood still for a moment, so much so that Finnick could almost hear the laughter of the Capitol people on the streets. No doubt they would not be near the end of their glorified evening yet. There were still more bars to drink themselves in a stupor in, more food to purge and consume again, more clubs to dance away their gluttony. Exhaustion wasn't an option; as soon as the crack of dawn might break, it would be as simple as setting a tiny blue pill on their tongues and to then start all over again.

"Thoughts?" Mrs. Corvak murmured in a breath of a tone, it was oddly fragile and drew Finnick back to where he was and for what purpose. "You were saying…" She offered, and Finnick chuckled at his moment of absence, pressing a hand against his forehead.

"Yes." He remembered, "I was commenting on how lovely your skin was, wasn't I? You'll have to excuse me I'm a bit-"

"Would I have some part in how disoriented you are?" She asked suddenly, a twinge of confidence and shock raising a few octaves in her voice as she interrupted him. The woman pushed up on her hands to hover over him, her lips twitching in a jovial grin. "Have I exhausted the Finnick Odair?"

Finnick bore his teeth in a smile as he looked upon her, his brows raised. But in fact Cecily Corvak had nothing to do with where his mind was, and generally speaking her performance was subpar at best. Nonetheless, he smiled, letting the deluded Capitol woman believe whatever it was that would eventual get him what he needed. "I'm afraid so." He began, "In fact, Mrs. Corvak-"

"Oh please, I do love it when you call me Cecily."

"Cecily." He corrected himself, "In fact, Cecily, I think you were absolutely astounding. I can't think of any woman who has made me feel quite…like this before." Mrs. Corvak flushed as she bore into Finnick's face, her eyes desperately searching him for truths. A truth, that Finnick knew Mr. Corvak rarely provided for his attention starved wife. Yes Cecily Corvak, once the greatest stylist of her Hunger Games days, now succumbed to the waste-bin of Capitol society – marriage. She was something of a Hunger Games legend ever since her styling debut in the second annual Quarter Quell. From what he could remember of the 50th Hunger Games, was that, that was the year the tributes from District Five's grand chariot entrance had provided the idea that bigger is better and less is by far more. Being that their respected District was head of DNA splicing and breeding, the stylists had concocted a serum that turned them into living chameleons. With every pass of the chariot their naked flesh would adapt to the colors of a sign, building, even a horde of synthetically altered Capitol women. It was the year that District Five received the leading amount of sponsors and parachutes. Not that, that mattered, it was also the year that District Twelve's Haymitch Abnerathy pulled the wool over the Capitol's eyes and arose victorious. Regardless, Cecily Corvak had proven herself a valuable stylist and with every year she supplied splendid costumes to the likes of the Career districts. The attention she received garnered a response from her future husband Aloysius Corvak – and as it stood, he was this year's Head Gamemaker of the 70th Hunger Games.

"But, you don't know that do you?" Finnick asked, sitting up on his elbows so that his lips were barely grazing hers. His fingers combed through her hair, curling into a knot against the back of her head. His lips flickered a momentary smile before it faded, his face set in stone as he spoke, "I should go." Cecily's eyes widened in shock, watching the man stand from the bed.

"What? No, please, stay longer." The woman scooted herself to the edge of the bed as Finnick drew his black pants over his bare bottom. She poised herself on her knees, her arms wounded around his abdomen as her lips pressed against the dip in his back. "I'll do anything." She continued, but Finnick sighed. "I-I…" Her eyes searched his flesh, thinking for a solution. "I-I'll give you anything you desire, buy you anything you need, tell you anything you want to hear." Finally it seemed the man registered her words, his posture straightening. Finnick peeled her arms off from around him, turning around to see the desperate middle-aged woman.

"Tell me anything?" He repeated. Cecily nodded furiously, her hands lying abandoned on her lap. Finnick crouched before the woman on the edge of the bed. His hand hovered over her cheek without touching the flesh, his expression reminiscent of the cat that caught the canary. In a last ditch effort, Cecily took his hand and planted it on her cheek, no longer able to take his excruciating teasing. Finnick's eyes dropped to eye her lips, his own lips barely moving as he murmured so softly, "Would you tell me your secrets?"

The energy in front of the Justice Building hung like smoke in the air, the vibrations coaxed from one side of the corralled teenagers to the other, crashing into their relatives that stood quivering behind the rope divider. In some way they were much like the waves that crashed and pulled beside them. When one end would silence, the other would begin in a nervous chatter, and vice versa.

It was hard for Finnick to just sit there, in his high-arched chair on the stage, looking out upon the sea of others, some friends. He was only a year older than the cut off age of eighteen, but he was still expected to mentor a tribute, regardless of age. The previous four years had been difficult to mentor, and most of the time Finnick found Mags taking over the reins. He couldn't help but feel that his lack of involvement in the past games had led to the ultimate death of District Four tributes. He wasn't alone in this thought; most of his District regarded his existence the same as any Capitol person. To them he just floundered about the Capitol, selling his looks to garner riches – really they weren't wrong. No, this was the year he would bring his District Four tribute home. He couldn't have more blood on his hands, it was bad publicity.

Finnick drew his hand against his forehead, nursing a headache, when a flash of light caught his eyes. The cameras were relentless and constant in his new life, but when he spotted them he lifted his hand in a sporty wave and flashed his most brilliant smile, before pocketing his hands in an almost aloof manner. To his immediate right sat Mags, and to his standing left was Jayline Lackey. Finnick couldn't say he hadn't seen her before.

The standard procedure went as followed. Mayor Quoy provided the usual speech. The story of how District Thirteen fought the Capitol and ultimately provided the future that stood to this day. The bloodbath of the Hunger Games was a reminder that we, the people, are not all powerful, we are weak, and when it comes to challenging the Capitol, we will die.

Finnick's eyes drew up to spot an elderly woman in the crowd. She was short and could barely stand hunched over her cane – but still she did. Her wrinkled hand came up and patted against her own chin, reminding Finnick to keep his chin up. He winked back to her, but what he hadn't noticed were that the names were already drawn and his motion came in direct path of the female tribute. His brow rose in interest and his eyes followed her, uncomfortably unwavering, as she came to stand beside Jayline. When the town erupted in cheers, and then settled back down, and the ending ceremony speech was delivered, he stood, taking her shoulders in his hands before she could be taken by the Peacekeepers. His fingers curled over the fabric of her dress against her shoulder, tugging her back slightly so that he could whisper in her ear, "Smile and look pretty for the cameras, Annie."


	2. Chapter 2

AN from Mk: Thanks to brooke13243546 for being our very first reviewer! Hope you continue to like the rest (:

AN from Ren: I hope you hate it, Brooke. 

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><p>She hadn't really allowed herself to react to being picked for the Hunger Games yet. Not while there were people here and watching. When she was alone, in the Justice Building, saying goodbye to her aunt and uncle, then she would allow herself to cry. But right now, while she was moving to stand up on the stage, she could only have a smile on her face, as if there was nothing wrong with being chosen as a Tribute, as if she were perfectly fine with the idea of being brought to an arena to fight to her death. And, for appearances, she acted like she was. On her walk to stand beside Leeter, her eyes flickered over to the mentors, to see the two people who held her and Leeter's lives in their hands. Annie couldn't help but be startled for a moment as Finnick winked at her as she walked by, and hoped that she had at least kept her expression free of her momentary bewilderment.<p>

She stood between her best friend and their escort while the Mayor finished off the speech of the day. She had stood silently, hoping to look at least somewhat alright with this new turn of events. Other people had been trained their whole lives to go to the Hunger Games, but she and Leeter were not those people. The only lives she was prepared to take were those of fish. She could barely even begin to consider killing a human, let alone a child her age or younger in the Games.

However, as he stood behind her, put his hands on her shoulders, murmuring quietly in her ear to smile and look pretty for the cameras, she did just that. She stood and smiled and waved goodbye before the Peacekeepers came and took her and Leeter to separate rooms inside the Justice Building, where friends and family would have fifteen minutes each to visit and say their farewells before she was taken to the train that would carry her to the Capitol.

When her aunt burst through the door, crying with earnest as she wrapped up her niece in her arms, Annie finally allowed herself to cry. She clung to the woman who had been like her mother after her parents had passed away, and her uncle held the both of them as they stood in the middle of the room, tears falling from all of their eyes. The fifteen minutes passed far too quickly, and they were ripped away from her and dragged out of the room as they told her they loved her over and over, and she yelled back that she loved them over the din as well. A few of her friends from school came to say goodbye, people who were in her year and she had done projects with. But the main person she wanted to see aside from her family, she wouldn't be able to until they were both safely sequestered on the train.

Annie pulled herself back together, and dried her face, hoping her eyes weren't too red from crying as they waved goodbye at the train station again for the cameras, before disappearing inside of the train itself and being brought to a living room area where she and Leeter were to wait and formally meet their mentors for their Hunger Games. She sat down in one of the plush chairs, and pulled the ribbon from out of her hair, raking her fingers through it as she waited for Leeter, and the mentors to arrive.

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><p>The train was cramped and narrow, but what it lacked in size it made up for in décor. The panels of the walls were dressed in rich mahogany and lights that gave off a green hue. Maybe it was a bit gloomy for Leeter's taste, or maybe it was the atmosphere of the situation itself, but the small room they sat in was severely depressed. The luxuries did little to bring up the spirits of the tributes. The eighteen year old fought tooth-and-nail to compose himself in front of the cameras, but the appearance of his parents, big brother, and four sisters made it hard-pressed for Leeter to remain that way. He sat, his thumbnail hooked in his mouth as remaining tears slid from his eyes. "How are you doing it, Annie?" He asked quietly, running his arm underneath his runny nose.<p>

His foot bounced against the expensive rug on the ground, his bright blue irritated eyes looking up and around the room, before settling back down on the girl beside him. Leeter had been at the age where he was just entering the threshold of escape, in three weeks after the Reaping he would have been nineteen, and ultimately safe from the Capitol's clutches – at least as far as the Games were concerned. The boy himself was nothing to be impressed by, unlike most of the other Careers that came from his District. He was the leading swimmer of their class and found that he fared better in sea than on land. In fact, he was a rather clumsy boy, and had even hooked his foot on the lip of the carpet when entering the train. Like most in District 4, he was bronzed with dark brown hair and eyes like molten tanzanite. He could have easily married off well once out of school, and settled into a nice life as a fisherman. He could have come home to a wife and a few guppies chasing each other around his legs. But now? Now he sat, jittering beside his best friend like a fish washed up on land.

"Well…" Leeter opted for a nervous laugh, "Things can't get better than this, right?"

The door creaked open after his words, and what followed was a pair of well polished loafers and leather skimmers. Finnick rounded the corner of the room and opened the door out of respect for Mags, waiting for the woman to shuffle herself in – as he'd put it. He glanced over his shoulder as he waited for the woman pop in, making a point to close the door before Jayline could enter their inner circle.

"Oh they can." Finnick replied to Leeter, pressing his back against the lavishly carved wood. "And they will, but let's keep up that cheery disposition for now, shall we?" The man stepped closer into the light, standing on the opposite side of the glass table that rested before the tributes.

"Behave, Odair." Mags gave Finnick a look, before turning her gaze onto the girl, a woman really. It was always hard to look at a pretty one go, but in the end that would work in her favor. "Forgive me, my hearing's a bit shot, what were your names again?" Her voice was rather deep for a woman's, and hinted that perhaps she was a smoker. Most of the mentors had chosen their poison since their Hunger Games day. Some had turned into Morphling addicts, others alcohol, tobacco and some to sex, it seemed.

"Leeter Jacqurell." Leeter murmured, but when his eyes caught Mags motioning for him to speak up, he cleared his throat and lifted his face while he enunciated, "Leeter Jacqurell."


	3. Chapter 3

The train was lovely. She had been fortunate enough to be brought up in a better part of town for most of her life, but even still, the train that would bring them to the Capitol was even more ornate than she was used to. It seemed fitting that they should be lavished with spoils before lead off to the slaughter. At least they'd be shown a good time before the end came, right? But there was no need in thinking of that now, because even just thinking it right now had the tears threatening to spill over from her eyes once again, and she had only just recomposed herself seconds before the cameras had started rolling again at the train station. She didn't want to start crying again, when she had only just managed to stop.

But as Leeter came in and sat beside her, she reached over and placed a hand gently on her best friend's shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze. Though it had been hard for her to say goodbye to her aunt and uncle, she couldn't even begin to imagine the heartache that Leeter felt upon being chosen as a Tribute for the Games. His nineteenth birthday was only weeks away. He had his parents, and his four sisters he was leaving behind. They had even come to say goodbye to her, as she had been sort of adopted into the family and Leeter into hers seeing as anyone would be hard pressed to find Leeter without her, or Annie without him. She wanted to curl up on his chair with him, and cry into his shoulder.

"I don't even know," Annie laughed bitterly, wishing more than anything that two other people had been chosen other than her and Leeter. It was a horrible thing to wish for, because it would be two other people sent in their place, but she couldn't withhold the selfish thoughts from her mind, not now when there was probably only a limited amount of time to even think them.

However, when she was going to try and say something comforting to her best friend as he said that things probably couldn't get much better than this, Finnick Odair strode into the room, proclaiming that they could and they will. She didn't even try and stop the momentary glare she sent his way. Couldn't they have a few moments to themselves to be just miserable about what was happening and what would happen to them? Apparently, their mentor was even going to take away that from them, and she was unimpressed. Sure, he was beautiful, but right now he was being an ass and she had no patience to deal with him.

As Mags made her way into the room and told Finnick to behave himself, Annie immediately found that she liked the older woman, and was happy that she was along for the ride. As she asked for their names, Annie allowed Leeter to introduce himself first, giving her best friend's shoulder another gentle squeeze before saying her name as well. "I'm Annie…Annie Cresta," she murmured, just loud enough for Mags to hear her.

"I'm sorry, but do we really have to get straight into things? We both could use some time to get used to this…"

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><p>"You're never going to get used to things." The mentor said simply, his voice as light as if he were proclaiming the weather. But the way his expression was pulled critically brought light onto the situation, and exactly what the value of time was. Finnick shifted his glance between the two, from the sopping eighteen year old, to the composed brunette, and granted, a little longer on Annie. The two of them were in stark contrast to the prior year, in which District Four had been reaped of a twelve year old and a fourteen year old. It could have been claimed as bad luck, but it seemed like the Games that year had an uncanny assortment of young tributes from each District. By the book, the Hunger Games were only allowed "themes" when entering a Quarter Quell. However, one couldn't help but feel like on some occasions, most likely when the Capitol grew restless, the Reaping was rigged. How else could you explain the twelve year old with only one entry, and no tesserae drawn, from being picked at a supposed random? But this year's batch, although not Careers, had a chance. Maybe not the girl, the longer that Finnick looked, the more he could take in her special qualities.<p>

Her skin was pale and uncommon for most people of their District, some of whom who could tan so dark they were nearly racially ambiguous. Her fingers, that ensnared Leeter's shoulder, were free of calluses and soft. Finnick even doubted the amount of strength Annie had purely from the way the skin seemed to cling to her body and from the fullness of her cheeks. In less than two minutes, Finnick surmised that Annie Cresta was an Uptowner, well off, and probably just around the neighborhood from the Victor's Village. His eyes scanned her body from toe up before looking to Mags; she seemed to share a look with him, though only hers was a bit indistinct.

"From this moment on we're already out of time." Finnick said in a lower tone, accommodating Leeter and Annie's emotions. "I am sorry for you two. I can't say I haven't been through this before." There was a way to his tone, his words tied together more like a purr – dark and smoky, laced in a brief sincerity. "But the sooner you understand this, the faster Mags and I can prepare you for what's ahead." His eyes seemed to linger on Leeter.

Leeter scooped his arm once more under his leaking nose, his free hand sweeping out to rest on Annie's knee. He could feel the stare on him and had already assumed that it was he who was being addressed. With a swallow, he looked into Finnick and Mags' expression, his face pulling. There was a daunting way to Finnick's words that felt everlasting and somehow he couldn't help but feel like they would latch onto his brain indefinitely.

Yet in the grave silence, his eyes bugged when his stomach gave out a resounding grumble, and he ducked his head down with a wince in embarrassment. "I…didn't eat before we left." Leeter mumbled, "Nerves." He laughed a little awkwardly, creasing his brows as he looked away. Finnick cocked his head to the side at how shy Leeter seemed to be. He only had a year on the tribute, but somehow he felt older. It was the way Leeter carried himself, even for an average-height boy with a swimmer's build, he just seemed very…small.


	4. Chapter 4

Annie narrowed her eyes at the mentor standing across the room from her once again with his response to her question. Fine, maybe they wouldn't get used to this, but they could use some time to adjust. It wasn't an all-expenses paid vacation they were going on after all – they were being sent off to the Hunger Games together. They would stick together and somehow make it through. There was no other alternative in her mind. They would make it through okay, and they would come back home again, someway, somehow. But a few minutes at least to have a momentary pity-party would've been appreciated before Finnick Odair came in on his high horse and began ordering their lives around.

She clenched her jaw unappreciatively as her mentor appraised her, looking her up and down without abandon, sizing her up before glancing over to Mags. She wasn't sure what the look between them meant, and right now, she wasn't exactly sure that she wanted to know. If they were thinking bad things about her, then they could keep it to themselves. She wasn't going to have any part of it. All she wanted to do was be back home in District Four. What she wouldn't give just to have been able to go for one last swim in the ocean she so dearly loved! She couldn't even bear to think that yesterday may have been the last time she would ever be surrounded by the salt water's cool embrace. The thought brought the tears back to her eyes, and she bit down on her lower lip as their gazes turned to Leeter. They would just have to win. There were no other options available for them. They would win, and they would come back home to District Four, and they would hold their families and then run off to the ocean and not leave it until it was dark out and the stars were shinning bright in the night sky.

However, as Leeter's stomach grumbled, and he explained that he hadn't eaten before they had departed, Annie laughed, the happy sound escaping her lips before she even realized it had happened, and clapped a hand over her mouth. Was it appropriate to laugh when you had been sent off to kill twenty-two other kids?

"Can we get him something to eat then?" Annie asked the two mentors, moving her hand to firmly clasp Leeter's in her own on top of her knee. She wasn't planning on letting go of him until they made it back home again. She was going to need her best friend over the next few weeks more than she had ever needed him before.

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><p>The dining cart was brought to life by the subdued clatters and scrapes of utensils to fine china. The room was dressed the same as their previous location, although it was much larger to accommodate the tributes, the escort, the mentors and the various staff of Avox that flowed in and out, bringing dish after dish of various delicacies. Tea-poached fish in a delicate white wine reduction, stuffed Cornish hen, a salad made of various fruits and celery, and finally a stack of rum soaked cake that was deceivingly rich and filling for its size. Leeter heaved in a heavy breath as he settled back in his seat, his brows rising at the amount of food that sat like a rock in his belly. He swallowed air, trying to find sound ground between mentally willing himself to keep the food down and physically being able to. An audible groan passed his lips as another platter was brought out, replacing the previous inhaled spread.<p>

"At this rate I'm going to die before I even reach the Remake Center." He murmured dismally under his breath. Finnick laughed lightly from across the table, pressing a freshly filled fluted glass to his lips with a flicker of his brows to the male tribute. His Adam's apple bobbed in the motions, polishing the bottom-dwelling remains of the fizzing liquor. Leeter watched the motions, before looking to the untouched glass beside him. He took it as well, and with a spared glance to Annie, tried the drink. It was sugary and crisp, fuzzy on his tongue, and ultimately unpleasant. In many ways it reminded him of Jayline Lackey, all the way down to the aftertaste. Leeter spared a skeptical glance at his glass and then Finnick, before setting it down at a safe distance away.

The eighteen year old wasn't one for sweet, and he rejected most of Annie's baked goods, saving them for where they were wanted. It was his brother Levi who had an affinity for anything sugary, unlike Leeter. Subconsciously he spooned a helping of some turquoise pudding into his mouth which tasted more floral than sweet and thereby manageable for his particular palette. His eyes darted around his plate and the smile that lingered from his prior phrase slowly dissolved. Across from him, Finnick's lips moved in words he wasn't listening to as he was overcome by his memories.

He remembered District Four as if it had been days since they've departed, not hours. He remembered his older brother, and knew if given the opportunity Levi would have volunteered to take his place. Recalling his brother brought back the scent of the ocean to his nostrils, overtaking the smells of the food before them. Levi, like Leeter, was a spearman in the shallow waters. In every essence this was a more dangerous job than deep-sea diving. The coral reefs that encircled the beach and lagoon were very sharp, and on more than one occasion Leeter had seen men impale themselves from a misjudged diving spot. But it was expected, no, mandated that they went out every morning and returned with a hefty bounty.

The boat rocked steadily as Leeter sat on the stern, his bare feet bobbing in and out of the waters with every corkscrew motion of the dinghy. He looked at ease as he wove knot after knot in what would become a new net. Behind him, Levi swapped out of his town clothes into a pair of seal shorts their mother Lorelei had skinned and prepared that night. Leeter cast out the line and moved to follow his brother's suit to change. The hours were spent under a hot grueling sun, the moment they would surface from the water with a spear full of fish; they would immediately dive back down to avoid the beating heat. It was easier underwater. The harsh rays turned to iridescent beams of light below the cool blue surface. Everything seemed clearer, from each glimmering fish to the multi-colored coral that twisted and curled below them like a net of razors. He didn't know how long they were under, but soon the bright tones turned dark. The waters grew restless and suddenly his body began to be tugged either which way. Leeter struggled to the surface, desperately beating his legs to keep himself afloat. He came to sputtering seawater, gasping abruptly when he was forced under again by an unexpected wave.

"Levi!" Leeter called out frantically when he resurfaced, angling his body to swim parallel to the shore. That was something he told Annie when she was first brought to the work lagoons at age fourteen. One, when caught in a storm or rip current, you don't fight the waters, you'll only tire yourself out. And two, no matter what, stay with the current and just keep swimming. Whatever you do Annie, never stop swimming.

He could feel his chest straining for breath and his tongue sting from swallowed seawater. Leeter extended his arms over his head and ducked back under the water, spotting the net cast out from their dinghy. His hands wove around it, using it as a guide back to the bucking boat when his grip rested on a tangle of splayed hair. He shirked back when he registered Levi's body entangled by the rope. The water tasted metallic and Leeter knew that Levi had collided with the reef. He struggled to disentangle his brother and drag him back to the boat.

It was Annie who met them at the shore. It was Annie who helped Leeter carry Levi inside, scattering aside the plates and fruit bowl of the kitchen table where they laid his body to rest. It was Annie who took on the night when Leeter fell asleep as they waiting for Levi to break his fever. And when Levi did finally come to, it was Annie that he first saw. Leeter couldn't bring himself to admit it, but regardless of the joy he had that his brother was well, it had bothered him that his face lit up like the sun when his eyes rested on his childhood friend. Never had he considered her romantically, but in that moment something came over him – something protective. During the next few days it was Annie's breakfasts that Levi had grown addicted to, claiming that she added just that _special _touch of sweetness. Levi's incessant flirting had severely tempted Leeter to take his empty water glass and refill it with seawater. But at least she didn't seem to mind, if anything it was almost if she were fueling his sugar cravings with new treats the following days. Maybe Annie should have found out about this fizzing liquor before now, he was sure Levi would have wet himself in delight.

The tribute hadn't known he was staring at his partner for so long until he spotted Finnick's prying eyes on him. Only, they weren't prying, they were waiting, as if he had just asked a question. But the mentor looked taken by something, as if considering some unspoken possibility for Leeter. Was he brewing a victory concoction for Leeter already? Was he considering his angle that would make this particular tribute stick out from the rest? Leeter had thought that his age was enough. As rare as it was to draw a twelve year old from the reaping, it was also an odd commodity to reap the latter end. The Capitol wouldn't take his age lightly, they would assume he would be the strongest, and as he was already a Career, Leeter figured he had a pretty good running for sponsors. That would be, however, if he provided the embodiment of the qualities he had.

"Well?" Finnick motioned with his hand for Leeter to carry-on.  
>"I don't think anything you can think up will help me." Leeter let his thoughts slip in a low tone, eyes on his folded hands.<br>The man watched him slowly, as if trying to figure him out, but he seemed to give up after a second and looked to Annie itself, "What about you Miss Cresta?" He slid his cheek into his palm, his teeth barely hinting, "Do you have any talents I should know of?" Just the way Finnick said it somehow made it sound rather…explicit.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN from Mk: **Ren's off on a cruise right now, but I thought I'd upload the next chapter for you guys now. Reviews are what inspire us to keep writing, so please review if you read this chapter!

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><p>After she had asked for some food so Leeter could eat, the mentors had informed an Avox that they would like to have dinner as soon as possible. They chatted about inconsequential things while they waited, how lovely the weather had been lately, that they hadn't ended up getting the hurricane that had been predicted to hit, how she and Leeter knew each other. That had been an easy story to tell. Leeter's father had worked for her uncle, and there had been a 'bring your kid to work' day when they had been in elementary school. As her uncle had taken her around his business, she had met Leeter and his father, and she and Leeter had gotten along right off from the start. After she had finished her tour with her uncle, she had gone back over to Leeter and his dad, deciding that she wanted to visit with her new friend. They had been inseparable ever since.<p>

Thankfully, after she had finished the story, sending a smile over to Leeter, a servant that wasn't an Avox knocked quietly on the door, before popping his head inside, apologizing for the intrusion but informing them that dinner was now ready. They all stood, and she had kept hold of Leeter's hand as they walked to the dining room. Jayline had been waiting for them, sitting at the head of the table, and she and Leeter sat beside on another on the right, while Mags and Finnick sat beside each other across from the two of them, Finnick opposite herself, and Mags opposite Leeter. She would've preferred to sit across from the older woman, because then she wouldn't have to look at Finnick's pretty mug every time she lifted her head from looking at the food on her plate.

If Jayline had been miffed at Finnick's obvious show that she was unwelcome with closing the door in her face, she didn't show it. She was simply perky as ever, a big smile on her face as she chitchatted about the various dishes set before them. The fish was obviously homage to their District, and it was delicious, while the other dishes were simply Capitol favourites. Annie only took a little bit of food of each dish in order to be able to eat the other dishes as well, but by the time that the desserts were being set out before them, she was quite stuffed, and unsure of how she was going to be able to eat another bite, but she took tiny bits of a few of the desserts as well, favoring the rum-soaked cake. It had been a recipe she and her aunt had tried to make a couple of times for her uncle's birthday, and the reminder of the family she was leaving behind brought tears back to her eyes before she furiously blinked them away.

It was then that Finnick asked Leeter if there was anything that he was exceptionally good at, and her best friend gave the response that nothing their mentor came up with would be able to help him, and Annie frowned. That frown deepened as Finnick turned to look at her, and then asked her the same question, although in a very different tone, his inflection implying anything but the Hunger Games, and she bristled.

"I can swim rather well, but Leeter's even better than I am. And he can make nets that are so strong really quickly," Annie murmured, turning the light back onto Leeter, refusing to let him give up so early on. They would win, and come back home together.

"I can use a spear decently for fishing, but that's it really. I can bake really well, but I don't think I'm going to be able to defeat anyone with cupcakes…"

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><p>"Don't listen to her." Leeter said suddenly, almost cutting off Annie in her words. "She's faster than any girl in our school and incredibly silent. That and she's self-reliant, she can clean and fix up almost any wound without batting an eye. There's nothing she can't heal." He huffed breathlessly, focusing on the brunette beside him as if this debate was between the two of them and the existence of their mentors was completely insignificant. However, Finnick didn't seem to mind. If anything he looked beside himself in amusement as he watched the two teenagers, his fingers curling a spoon around the piping hot coffee that was just served to their table in accompaniment of their desserts. His eyes seemed to bounce between Annie and Leeter, during their verbal tennis, seemingly more eager to boost the other than themselves. "Yeah I can swim and my nets are fine, but can you even remember the last time we had a water arena? It's not going to make a-"<p>

"I wouldn't be so sure." Mags replied, intercepting Leeter, she cleared her throat and set a worn, almost leathery, hand on her own mug of coffee. "Now I don't know what you two kids think the Games are. But out there it isn't a lottery and every skill is valued and has to be refined to perfection. Now I got some twelve year olds that hadn't even started netting yet that I brought home. You give me something to work with and I'll turn you two into right bloodthirsty killers." She scoffed, "That's how it works. You have to have entertainment value. The Capitol's a bunch of-…" The woman stopped herself, and both hers and Finnick's eyes turned to Jayline.

Finnick cleared his throat and leaned in to the escort, curling his fingers around her pearl necklace. "Were these made by Cora?" The man asked, regarding the jeweler who had a specialty in stringing local caught pearls. His thumb coaxed over the glistening surface, studying them calmly as he provided the distraction for Mags. Finnick moved his hands from surveying the jewelry to slyly resting on the woman's collarbone, leaving his palm tantalizingly close to her chest.

"-idiots with more smoke blown up their ass than District Thirteen." Mags leaned over the table to address the two side-by-side friends when given the opportunity to complete her thought. "Show them something sparkly and they'll love you 'till the end. You're from a Career district. The sooner you act like it, the more likely we are to bring one of you back."

It was then that it dawned on Leeter. In the end, no matter how well they played the Games, only one of them would be coming back to District Four. He wasn't sure if Annie realized this, and something in him told him she didn't, but his eyes rested on hers gravely at the thought.


End file.
